1) It was ony a section of the Bridge, and clearly only a section. They had a whole scene showing the remainder. 2) Magneto had already been surprised by the lack of metal guns. He sent in the pawns...

That might seem good to a player. But given server history and EQ's maturity, population cap makes more sense. They can add another server in a weeks if it is that popular, but the longevity needs to...